She was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with liberating women from the constraints of the "corseted silhouette" and popularizing a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style. A prolific fashion creator, Chanel extended her influence beyond couture clothing, realizing her design aesthetic in jewellery, handbags, and fragrance. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, has become an iconic product. Chanel herself designed her famed interlocked-CC monogram, which has been in use since the 1920s.
Chanel was born into poverty in the French countryside; her mother died, and her father abandoned her to an orphanage. After a brief stint as a shopgirl, Chanel worked for a few years as a café singer. She later became associated with a series of wealthy men and in 1913, with financial assistance from one of them, Arthur (“Boy”) Capel, opened a tiny millinery shop in Deauville, France. Within five years her original use of jersey fabric to create a “poor girl” look had attracted the attention of influential wealthy women seeking relief from the prevalent corseted styles.
Chanel’s designs stressed simplicity and comfort and revolutionized the fashion industry. By the late 1920s the Chanel industries were reportedly worth millions.
Rumors arose about Chanel's activities during the German occupation of France during World War II, and she was criticized for being too close to the German occupiers. After several post-war years in Switzerland, she returned to Paris and revived her fashion house. In 2011, Hal Vaughan published a book about Chanel based on newly declassified documents, revealing that she had collaborated directly with the Nazi intelligence service, the Sicherheitsdienst. One plan in late-1943 was for her to carry an SS peace overture to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to end the war.
She had various relationships such as with Étienne Balsan (wealthy textile heir), Arthur "Boy" Capel (English aristocrat), Edward VIII (Duke of Westminster and Prince of Wales) or Baron Hans Gunther von Dincklage (German officer).
She never married and had no children.
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